Cruising from New Orleans to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel 2025

For the third year in a row we decided to do a family cruise for Christmas. Sadly our two adult daughters were not able go this trip, but we were joined by a group of friends and had a great time! This time we chose Carnival Liberty, porting from none other than, New Orleans!!

We arrived in NOLA two nights before our cruise so we could have time to explore. I wanted a centralized hotel that was close to both the cruise port and within walking distance of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. So I booked our group at Homewood Suites. It was also within walking distance of the rental car return. We had rented a van to drive down but dropped it off upon arrival as we intended to fly home. After dropping the van off, we walked to Voo Doo for a drink to meet another couple in our group who arrived an hour before us. Super cute and casual bar, decorated with a traditional Mardi Gras vibe. They did have a slot machine, in which my husband won $100 right off the bat. It was early afternoon, so the place wasn't too busy, perfect for catching up with old friends and kicking the trip off! We shortly headed back to the room to freshen up and make plans for dinner. We decided to make it a simple evening while the kids were swimming and grab pizzas from the restaurant attached to the hotel, Pizza Luna! Small place but smelled amazing when we walked in. There were several tables inside and outside. We ordered our pizzas, a couple of drinks, and sat on the patio while waiting. The pizza was up quickly, and we all headed back to the hotel lobby to eat. There were roughly 10 of us, and there were plenty of tables and seating in the lobby. They also have a shuffleboard, and we had a ton of fun playing shuffleboard, eating, and hanging with friends! We did a little walking after dinner in the lobby to check out shops and other nearby attractions. Then it was time for a goodnight's sleep. The next day, we gathered the family to explore the Big Easy. Heading out around noon, first opting to walk towards the port. There were tons of shops and even a small mall right by the port. From there, we walked down the Mississippi towards Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. There were tons of vendors, street performers, shops, and bars. So much to see! We then walked down to Bourbon St. to take it back on the way to the hotel. Although it was only 2 p.m., it was still pretty rowdy, not many kids. Definitely not somewhere you should take younger kids and especially not at night. We stopped by several shops before making it back to the hotel to relax before dinner. We made reservations for 7 p.m. at Legacy Kitchen's Tacklebox, a nice seafood restaurant a couple of blocks down. We started with a dozen oysters; I had the crab cake sliders, and my husband had the redfish. The majority of the rest of the table didn't order seafood, but everyone was in agreement that the food was fantastic. The service was phenomenal too! Time to call it a night because tomorrow morning we embark!

The hotel was beautiful but there were hot water issues during the day most of the weekend. The staff was polite and tried their best to resolve the issue. I would give Homewood Suites NOLA another chance. Luckily on the last morning there were no issues with the water and we were all able to shower and get ready to sail!

I called a local cab company to run us to port. They were able to send a van so that all 5 of us could fit with our luggage. It took about 10mins to get to port and embarkation was a breeze, we were on the ship in less than an hour. One thing that did slow us down was a secondary security line due to hand carrying two bottles of wine on. I would probably skip bringing my own drinks on next time. It seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth. This year we opted out of the drink package. Instead I decided to purchase 3 bottles of wine to be served at dinner for under $100, there was also an option of 5 bottles. With this being a 7 day cruise I felt 3 was sufficient. I liked this option much more than purchasing the full drink package that was about $900 per person and come to find out, my husband and I actually ended up getting a casino offer for free drinks while gambling. We made it a fun game to quickly sit at a slot machine to order a drink, try to get the bonus then leave for the next item on the agenda. If you do get the drink package, wether you purchase it or a free comp, don't forget that top shelf liquor is included.

Our first 3 days on the ship were spent at sea. For the most part the water wasn't too choppy, but I was sure to stay on top of the Bonine to prevent sea sickness. I scheduled everyone for early dining at 6pm. You can pick from early, late or "my time". My time dining you just check in on the app when you are ready and they will prepare your table asap. Sometimes you may have a half-hour wait or so, but most of the time a table is ready in 10mins. Personally, I like to have a set schedule so we can all easily plan around it. Dinner takes place in the main dining room, or the MDR. You will have at least 1 elegant or captains night, depending on the length of your cruise. 6+ nights have two elegant nights. Elegant night is formal or cocktail attire, the other nights are all cruise casual attire. If you are unsure of the dress code you can always find the guidelines on your cruise lines webpage. You also can upgrade your dining experience by booking a reservation at one of the specialty restaurants for an additional cost. This is a great way to elevate your overall cruising experience. This is something that I am more apt to do if it is just the two of us adults, rather than the whole family. In the MDR, I always like to remind everyone you can get more than one entree at no additional cost! For our first three days at sea we spend time at the lido deck, checking out night shows such as comedy, Vintage Pop (20s-jazz-meets-modern-hits) and 80's rock in the Venetian Palace and Victoria Lounge. We also hung out at the piano bar and tried our luck at the casino. Other things to do would be to catch a movie on the lido deck catch your favorite teams game at the SkyBox Sports Bar. I also planned a private cocktail party for our entire group which included free beer, wine & soda for two hours. I provided this as a group amenity.

Our first port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica! I had planned to just catch a cab to Doctor's Cave Beach. Be careful when getting a cab or shuttle as you might be tricked into paying for more of a hop on/hop off bus tour. Be clear of your destination and what you are looking for. We chose DCB as it was the closer beach and we were looking for an easy, chill day. There is a fee to enter the beach, ages 12+ is $8 and under 12 is $4. The beach was ok, loungers to rent and there is a clubhouse with changing rooms, showers and lavatories. There is a small outdoor bar with a pretty good menu, Pier 1, I had fish tacos and they were fantastic. There is also a small walk up/order cafe, Starbucks and a couple of shops across from the beach access The cabs will offer to stop at the shopping strips along the way to any location as Jamaica thrives heavily off of tourism. There were a lot of different things that I had on my radar for Jamaica that we simply did not have time for since we were only at port from 8-5 and spent majority of it at the beach. We wanted a laid back port day. Next time we are back in Jamaica I plan to visit Bob Marley's Nine Mile birthplace, museum, Dunn's River Falls & the blue hole as well as Rick's Reef! Here a list of amazing options in Jamaica!

Day five, port day number 2, Grand Cayman! This was the port I was most excited about! We planned to catch a cab for another beach day. This time Seven Mile Beach! This is interesting because there is also a Seven Mile Beach in Jamaica. Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman is a free beach and despite the name is actually on six miles long. The beach does have loungers for rent and there were a ton of vendors lining the parking lot selling various things such as food, beach equipment, drinks and included food trucks. The public lands commission manages the vendors and they go through an application process to be approved vendors. Our cab driver basically gave us a guided tour to the beach and was very knowledgable of the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands, at 22 miles long and 76 miles square. She said that the crime rate is very low but it is an expensive country to live in. The main forms of income for Cayman Islands is tourism and financial services. They are a leading off-shore financial center with a large amount of banks and trust companies. It is known as the financial capital of The Caribbean, and rightfully so with its tax free status. After a few hours at the beach we took a cab about halfway back to port so we could explore surrounding shops. There some fun places near port as well. I should mention that this is a tender port. The weather was beautiful and I cant wait to visit Grand Cayman again stay awhile!

Last port day, and always a fan favorite, Cozumel! Once again we booked an all-inclusive resort day at Paradise Beach! We loved PB last year and knew it was an absolute must again this year. We got a cab at the official cab line and it was $50 for the 5 of us and there is no lack of cabs waiting to take you back to port. This all-inclusive pass to Paradise Beach lets you hang out all day at one of Cozumel’s best beach clubs. Lounge on chairs shaded by palm trees, grab lunch at an onsite restaurant or have lunch served to you on the beach, and drink your fill of domestic liquors, beers, and soft drinks from the open bar. It’s the perfect beach day—no planning required. To read more about or purchase your day pass click here- Cozumel: Paradise Beach Club All-Inclusive Day Pass. Our servers, Oscar & David were phenomenal and kept food and drinks coming at all times. We hung out on the beach and at the pool. This time we even ran into a gal we met on the last cruise porting from Galveston. We didn't have any issues of cabbing back as there were plenty waiting. They do a great job of keeping an eye on each cruise ship's itinerary and know when each boat is leaving. We got back to port in plenty of time and did some shopping before heading back on board.

Last full sea day, day 7. Day 7 was a little windy and chillier than my liking. We did the sea day brunch again in the MDR. I highly recommend getting breakfast in the MDR over the buffet. There is a fresh pressed juice bar menu, number 2. Pineapple, Ginger, Lime, Dates, Turmeric was my daily choice and some other made to order breakfast staples. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and exploring the ship before our early dining time. After dinner we went to the adults only comedy show. We opened one of the two bottles of wine that we carried and hadn't touched, note to self don't bother carrying on drinks again. From there I called it a night as this was our last night cruising. 9 nights away from home. I left the packing for the morning as I chose the latest debarkation time as our flight home wasn't until 2pm. Morning was easy, got some food, got packed. No rush, no stress. Old me would have packed the night before. I like new me much better.